Lead Photo by RebeccaSmeyne
Wisconsin-native Stevie Zar has been a regular in the nightlife scene in a variety of forms and mediums. Zat took time to reflect on his performance roots and gets us ready for what lies ahead.
How did you get involved in the performing arts? And how did drag evolve from that foundation?
I was always into the performing arts. I remember being in dance classes as young as 4 years old, creating shows with the other kids I played with, and grew up playing clarinet as well as being involved in school plays and shows. After going to school for a BFA in Dance and moving to NYC I longed for the amount of performance opportunities that was facilitated when I was in school. My drag stays true to providing a different performance lens for dancing. I think of all of it as dance and movement even if it’s a performance where I am not moving a whole lot.
How did you get you’re foot in the door with the NYC drag scene and how has you style evolved?
I got my foot in the door a few different ways. First of all when I moved here I was going out and experimenting with looks, makeup, and styling myself for parties. It was an amazing way to become involved in a community of people after moving here. I was a big fan of what was Backspace Sundays at Sugarland Nightclub which was produced by Krystal Something Something and featured a group of transplant dance graduates. I made my debut at a monthy pageant called Little Miss Mierce that they hosted, won, and then joined the group for a few shows over the few months after. My style has gotten a lot more fishy drag over time but still carried the original essence of the beginning. Now I enjoy playing with different extremes and levels from gender-fuck to fish and everything in between when I get the chance.
Where do you draw inspiration for your looks and music selections?
My inspirations for looks and music selections are pretty diverse. I don’t typically do current top 40 stuff but pull from a lot of top 40 from 1996-2004, I also love soundtrack hits from that time too. For performing, everything is pretty much geared for moving around in. I love a good stretch velvet. As far as looks I tend to stray away from the glamour diva track and prefer to take inspirations from Siouxie Sioux, Nina Hagen, Clarissa, the Spice Girls just to name a few. I never go blonde. Brunettes take care of business. Think dark, vampy, toxic. Definitely not one of the girls but that lone wolf mystery lady type who can chug beer like a dude still with the grace of a praying mantis.
Is there a particular draw for you to the era of pop culture and if so, what is it?
Besides it being my formative years, I just miss the frivolous nature of that time period. It was a really optimistic time as we embarked into the new millennium. Pop music and top 40 were a lot more fun then. People were interested in the song before they knew about the artists. Artists were really only exposed through TV, magazines, and radio stations ruled what we listened to. The music was just fun without all the extra that comes along with pop today. I think that makes the songs more malleable to transform into a drag number. Pop music in drag numbers today often have an expectation for the audience and its hard to live anywhere except literal interpretation or parody. I always want to perform as Stevie. I’m not often into impersonations.
What do you think it is that makes the Brooklyn drag scene so unique?
The Brooklyn drag scene is unique for many reasons. First of all there is a lot of girls! Most of the characters you see in Brooklyn are a different embodiment than you would see at a typical bar show. Going to a more show you will see the diva archetype is replaced with more obscure or original embodiments. The result presented is deconstructed, lives with no set standards, and transcends into something that could easily hold it’s own in a downtown art space in addition to its home in the dark bars of North Brooklyn. There is tons of talent being presented through this drag lens. Most of these queens are brilliant musicians, actors, visual artists, and dancers plugging their knowledge into this performance medium.
Where do you envision Stevie Zar evolving for the rest of 2013 and beyond?
Right now I mainly just have Locally Grown at Tandem Bar in Bushwick. The show features a bunch of great dancers and performers and is a really great set each month. It’s something like you can’t see anywhere else and it’s super fun! We’re really trying to beef up that night more and more over this fall/winter season. Besides that it’s just trying to get booked and staying on the scene. With so many performs its really difficult to stay visible but if I can stay afloat I promise to deliver awesome entertainment!
I envision myself collaborating with several new and old friends in the future, blazing new trails, opening new doors for myself.
